“Articulated pedestrian walkways to and within large suburban parking lots” should have been standard practice a long time ago, note Kaid Benfield of The Atlantic Cities and John Wirtz of Xing Columbus.
Such a design could make it easier for bicyclists and pedestrians to get from place to place and store to store whereas now they might only have the option of weaving between the many vehicles parking and flinging themselves around areas that are unreasonably unsafe for everyone, including drivers.
The authors cite the example of Dublin, Ohio – outside of Columbus – that is retrofitting itself with these kinds of parking amenities and, notably, also attracting a strong future workforce. The Bridge Street corridor there is appealing to millennials and empty-nest baby boomers as a place to work, play, and live. Not dealing with the old suburban driving situation is a big part of that. The raised parking also helps with making sprawl less of an issue.
The city planners should be commended for envisioning a suburb that will have value moving forward into the real-estate market of this century.
Photo of Minneapolis’ skyway by Zack K